10th
Park skiing and ski pole weaponry
Day #3 of XC skiing was a new experience. I bought my new, incredibly old, skis and ski poles from Play It Again Sports. The poles and skis were $20 together. I also bought a pair of Whitewoods ski boots. The only downside is that the boots and bindings are 75cm type vs the click-in variety. I was too anxious to wait to buy new bindings. I also didn’t want to increase the investment by $50 for the bindings and better boots without knowing how I’d like it.
I couldn’t wait to try out my own equipment. I somehow managed to get through the rest of the work day without skipping out to ski. I was ready to go when 5:30 rolled around. I packed up the skis in my audi ski bag (which came with my car) and drove to the local park.
It seemed goofy at first skiing around the park. I felt a little better after seeing another set of tracks. There was only about 1” - 2” of snow on the ground so there were spots that were bare. I created some of my own tracks and used the other person’s tracks.
I found out the XC skiing is much faster in established tracks. There is some fun to creating your own track but it’s slower going. There’s then something rewarding about going back over your own track.
I ran around the park for about an hour until it started to get dark. The park borders some shady apartments so I had a few thoughts of having to defend myself with my ski pole. I still think I’d be a sitting duck though. I’m not fast enough to outrun someone on skis and my ski pole could only be used as a spear. If I missed, I’d be even slower. I need to pack a gun like the nodric biatheletes. That would be awesome.
More skiing tomorrow!
